Scout makes signs to tell motorists turn around, don’t drown’

Tuesday

Feb 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 26, 2008 at 11:40 AM

When a road sign tells you to turn around or you will drown, you tend to pay more attention. That was the plan when Michael Hitchcock, 16, a Life Scout with Troop 204 in Campbell, decided to make signs warning travelers of frequent floodings.

Staff reports

When a road sign tells you to turn around or you will drown, you tend to pay more attention.

That was the plan when Michael Hitchcock, 16, a Life Scout with Troop 204 in Campbell, decided to make signs warning travelers of frequent floodings.

“The town where I live, Campbell, it’s right in the flood plain,” he said. “There’s a lot of roads that flood all the time.”

Hitchcock raised $3,000 for the signs by soliciting businesses and selling coffee and food to travelers at the Campbell rest stop on Interstate 86.

With the help of a sign-printing company, he was able to print and build several permanent signs and 29 portable signs, which are being given to Steuben County.

According to Michael Sprague, director of the Steuben County Office of Emergency Services, permanent signs will be installed on Old Campbell-Savona Road, and the portable signs will likely be seen by residents near the Almond Dam, and along the Canisteo River in Canisteo and Cameron.

When roads are closed, according to Sprague, the county places Road Closed signs up, but those often do not attract enough attention from drivers.

“When we put up a road closed sign, some people say, ‘eh, whatever,’ and they drive around them,” he said.

Coming face-to-face with a sign that shows the grave risk that one can take by driving through a flooded area will help keep drivers safe.